The best Ultra League teams to use in Pokemon GO (August 2021)

Pokemon GO's Battle League is always changing when it comes to its metagame, and this is no different for the Ultra League mode.

The top lists of Pokemon and teams fluctuate almost endlessly as players devise new battle strategies and Niantic creates new content updates to introduce new Pokemon into the fray.

Because of this, it can be tricky to pin down the top PvP teams at a given time in Pokemon GO, but fortunately data gathered by the community somewhat helps in narrowing things down. With a maximum CP cap of 2,500, Ultra League is relatively unrestricted and invites tons of powerful Pokemon to go toe-to-toe.

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Pokemon GO: Popular and powerful Ultra League teams

Image via Niantic

Due to Pokemon and Pokemon GO's nature when it comes to combat, there really aren't any "perfect" teams in a fight. However, there are plenty of solid picks that can help players go on a run for a win streak.

With August fast approaching, these are the current top Pokemon picks, according to data provided by PvPoke:

1. XL Registeel
2. Cresselia
3. XL Galarian Stunfisk
4. XL Shadow Abomasnow
5. XL Talonflame
6. XL Abomasnow
7. Swampert
8. Altered Giratina
9. XL Steelix
10. Regirock
11. XL Politoed
12. Shadow Swampert
13. XL Alolan Ninetales
14. Articuno
15. XL Perrserker

Some popular and efficient Pokemon GO teams for Ultra League include (according to the Silph Road community):

• Swampert, Registeel, and Cresselia: Swampert performs exceptionally well with stored energy and varies impressively as a counter against Pokemon such as Altered Giratina and Melmetal. Registeel's bulk speaks for itself, as it is incredibly difficult to take down. Cresselia is also a powerfully tanky Pokemon that can handle many of Ultra League's heavy hitters such as Swampert, Melmetal, and Togekiss.
• Altered Giratina, Alolan Exeggutor, and Kingdra: Altered Giratina is both incredibly defensive and still hits like a truck. Though not a widely high-rated pick, Alolan Exeggutor serves something of a glass cannon role due to its impressive move pressure and respectable damage, albeit being quite vulnerable. Kingdra retains short attack animations and can take a sizable beating while countering Pokemon such as Melmetal, Swampert, and even Venusaur in some situations.
• Machamp, Roserade, and Charizard: Similar to other picks on this list, Machamp serves efficiently as a counter to Swampert and Melmetal, as well as Obstagoon and Lapras. Roserade's capability of learning the Fire form of Weather Ball also provides it a strong countering ability against Melmetal, Swampert, Togekiss, Venusaur, and Escavalier. Charizard is in general a strong option due to its attack abilities despite not being the most durable Pokemon in Pokemon GO.
• Togekiss, Alolan Muk, and Venusaur: Togekiss may not be a highly-damaging Pokemon, but it can play defense particularly well even against matchups like Altered Giratina. Alolan Muk is resilient and applies good shield pressure while also possessing spammy moves. Venusaur is able to charge moves like Sludge Bomb and Frenzy Plant quickly which is bad news for picks like Cresselia and Lapras.
• Melmetal, Altered Giratina, Cresselia: Although somewhat inconsistent in mindgames, Melmetal is a strong defensive choice. Coupled with Giratina and Cresselia, Pokemon GO trainers will have a difficult time dropping this team's HP due to the considerable defense and stamina stats.

These teams are by no means perfect or guaranteed a win streak, but they can be somewhat helpful when it comes to pushing back against the meta. Additionally, August may significantly change Pokemon GO's Battle League meta.

Only time will tell.

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